Movie Review - Youth

Youth *½ (out of 5) (R) When a film with a distinguished cast starts racking up nominations, despite seeming this tedious and pretentious, I wonder if I might not be classy enough to appreciate its merits. The sets and scenery of this almost ironically-titled drama are superb. It’s hard to make an ugly movie in an opulent old-world sanatorium in the idyllic Swiss Alps. When Michael Caine, Rachel Weisz and Harvey Keitel head up a cast that includes a drive-by from Jane Fonda, one expects a first-rate screenplay to explain their interest. In this case, they may signed on for the restful elegance of this location.

Caine and Keitel play rich and famous old chums - the former a retired composer and conductor who’s been offered a knighthood; the latter a director of arty films, writing his last hurrah. Both are among the summer patients for this pamper palace of the wealthy. Most guest are so old, it looks like the Platinum Club section of Death’s waiting room. The script gives its players enough emotional baggage to fill a convoy of semis as they wrestle with old failures, regrets, disappointments and fears. One hopes for more clarity, relatable insights and internal resolutions than one is likely to find within two hours of blather amidst its lovely vistas, non-erotic nudity, and perhaps the most irritating scene of Fonda’s career. One of the best moments comes from cattle grazing on a nearby hillside. No kidding. (12/18/15)